At least 38 Hong Kong victims in growing human-trafficking trend, with seventh suspect arrested over job scams luring people to Southeast Asia
- City authorities receive another call for help on Tuesday, while security undersecretary says task force is ‘in contact with Chinese consulates through all channels’
- One of the seven suspects has been brought to court and two others will enter legal proceedings
Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip said 17 of the victims were confirmed as safe, of which 12 had returned home, including one who flew back from Thailand on Monday.
But 11 Hongkongers were still believed to be trapped in Myanmar and another 10 in Cambodia, he noted, adding that a seventh suspect in the case had been arrested.
How Hongkongers were scammed into travelling to Southeast Asia for forced labour
“Our task force is in contact with the Chinese consulates through all channels,” Cheuk told a radio programme on Tuesday morning.
“The organised crime and triad bureau has arrested seven people … One of them has been brought to court, and two others will enter legal proceedings. It is believed all of them belong to the same group.”
The seventh suspect was a 31-year-old man, who was arrested on Monday for conspiracy to defraud, according to the police force.
Among those arrested, police said on Monday that a 23-year-old college student surnamed Cheung was a key syndicate member and was mainly responsible for liaising and controlling his subordinates to recruit victims.
Cheung and a 27-year-old woman were each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud. Both appeared in Eastern Court on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, a special WhatsApp helpline created on Saturday by the Immigration Department has received more than 280 messages, of which only four are related to the current case. At least 20 were prank calls, sparking a warning from Cheuk not to abuse the hotline.
Cheuk said of the 38 requests for help, one centred on an online romance scam, clarifying that no cases in Hong Kong involved tourists being kidnapped.
Hong Kong to work with foreign ministry, Interpol against human trafficking
Hundreds of people, including Hongkongers, Taiwanese and Malaysians, have been duped into working for Cambodia-based fraud rings through false promises of high-paying jobs or romance in recent months.
The victims are held against their will in countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, and put into forced labour. Some were reportedly tortured, sexually assaulted and threatened with organ harvesting.
The scams attracted public attention after nine Taiwanese victims were brought back home earlier this month, with the self-ruled island having received more than 340 requests for help from residents.
Authorities in Taiwan last week said only about 3,400 residents had returned from Cambodia out of around 6,000 who travelled there during the first half of this year.
Police arrest 5 for alleged role in scam luring Hongkongers to Southeast Asia
The police force in Yunnan, a Chinese province bordering northeast Myanmar, on Monday revealed some gruesome images of victims who have escaped from detention, with one having had four fingers and half of his palm chopped off.
Thai police had earlier arrested Chinese businessman She Zhijiang on suspicion of illegal imprisonment, human trafficking and running illegal cross-border gambling operations in a place called “KK Park” on the boundary with Myanmar.
The Cambodian-Chinese fugitive, also known by aliases Tang Kriang-kai and Dylan She, was convicted by a court in Shandong province in 2014 for running an illegal lottery business in the Philippines but has not returned to China.
